(LOGO)
Hellooo everybody! Today I'm covering one of your most requested topics and that
is plot twists. A plot twist is a drastic change in the plot or direction of a novel, and writers
use them as a way to surprise their readers and keep them interested in the story. As a writer
and a reader. I am a huge fan of plot twists because they have the power to take the story
to a whole new level. A good book will leave you feeling awed and inspired. But a good book with
a great plot twist will blow your fucking mind. Now some of you folks have told me that you're
a little concerned about writing plot twists. You know exactly how your story needs to go,
and it's kind of predictable. You're not sure how you can throw a plot twist into a predictable
storyline. Fear not my fellow cyborgs, I'm here to help. Sometimes certain elements of the story are
predictable and there's not much you can do about it. Some writers are totally able to surprise the
reader and kill off their protagonist. But other writers need the protagonist to win the battle.
They need the protagonist to get the hot girl, or the beefcake guy, and the reader totally sees
it coming. It's fine if you've got to give into the reader’s predictions, but you can still do
it in a way that they're totally not expecting, at all. This is the power of the plot twist. It
can take the most predictable story and still make it exciting and unexpected. That said,
I'm going to give you a few plot twist techniques that you can implement into your writing. A couple
things to keep in mind, these techniques can be COMBINED. In fact, I encourage it. You can
take elements of any of these types of plot twists and mix them together. And I will be
using very professional, technical terminology when I describe the plot twists.(Humorous Pause)
That's a lie. Number One (1): The ‘How did I not see this coming?’ plot twist. Now the whole point of a plot
twist is you're not supposed to see it coming. But with this particular plot twist once the big
moment’s revealed, the reader says to themselves, “How did I miss that? It all makes sense now!”
They're suddenly able to piece together clues from the text that they totally missed the first time
around. The way to achieve this effect is to scatter teeny tiny hints throughout the text,
like little breadcrumbs. And the trick is to be subtle about these hints because you don't
want your reader picking up on them. You want them to be surprised once the plot twist hits.
The easiest way to make these hints fly under the radar is to scatter them in moments where
the reader's attention is directed elsewhere. The spotlight of the moment is on the romance,
the danger, the humor, not on that itty bitty hint that you nestled amid the dialogue. Now
if you're going with this option, beta readers are going to be your best friend because you'll
be able to tell if your hints were subtle enough based on the feedback they give to you. If you're
reviewing a chapter with a beta and they point directly to a hint and say “What's that about?”
That's not a good sign. If you reach the “What are your predictions?” question and they predict the
exact plot twist you have planned. That's also not a good sign. Beta readers are going to be
pivotal in telling you whether you hit or missed the mark. Number Two (2): The ‘Shit ain’t what
it seems’ plot twist. This plot twist is commonly referred to as ‘redirecting suspicion’—throughout
the whole book you have your reader convinced that the villain is the school bully. Then they
get to the climax, and lo and behold, the villain is the protagonist's best friend? WHAT THE HELL!
Gotcha. I gotcha! The trick here is to make your readers feel certain of a particular outcome. They
know exactly what's going on, and exactly how the story is gonna go. And they're wrong. One of the
ways to go about this is to implement a ‘red herring, which is a tool used to mislead the
reader. If you're writing a story that involves an element of ‘Who done it?’ then a red herring
could be a character that seems like the perfect culprit. He's gotta be the bad guy. Your reader
then becomes so convinced of his guilt, that any other possibility just seems crazy. In my opinion.
If you want to get your reader convinced of a particular outcome, you gotta get them emotionally
invested. If you're redirecting suspicion from the actual villain to a red herring,
then the red herrings got to be pretty hateable. Readers will be too caught up in their hatred to
pursue other possibilities. On the flip side, if the plot twist reveals that the love interest is
actually the villain, then the love interest has got to be pretty lovable. The reader will be too
busy swooning to even consider his portrayal. Number Three (3): The ‘Sike, it's not over’ plot
twist. This is the kind of plot twist that really showcases just how evil writers are. It's also my
favorite, which shouldn't be surprising. This is a plot twist that happens once everything's good.
The battle is won, the conflict’s been solved. Your characters are feeling fantastic. Then the
merciless narrator shows up and says. “Just kidding. I'm about to fuck your whole world
up!” Plot twists like this typically have the most impact when they happen at or around the climax.
But they can really show up at any point in the book. The key is that they show up right when the
story gets calm. Your characters have just gotten out of a difficult situation and they're finally
able to kick back and relax. The moment they start to decompress, it's your job to drop a worst
case scenario into their lap. Just think of the shittiest thing that could happen in that moment,
and make it so. Maybe your protagonist has been busting his ass trying to get his family to
approve of his fiancee. And once they finally do, he goes to tell her the good news and he finds her
in bed with another man! Give your characters and your readers a false sense of comfort. Let them
think that they can finally breathe for a moment, and then shit all over their hopes and dreams. And
Number Four (4): The ‘Where did that come from?’ plot twist. This is a plot twist that happens
unprovoked and out of nowhere. Your characters are just living their lives in bookland and suddenly,
a wild plot twist appears! What separates this plot twist from the others is that you're
essentially creating a problem that the readers didn't anticipate. Or you're answering a question
that they didn't know they had in the first place. Quite often plot twists arise from situations that
the reader’s already aware of. They know there's a bad guy, they just don't know who he is. They know
there was an epic battle, they just assumed it was already over and done with. But with this plot
twist, the information presented is brand spanking new. Your main character was switched at birth.
Their mom was an alien, and their dad was a teeny tiny bunny rabbit. Don't use that plot twist. Now
when it comes to this plot twist you gotta be careful, because of all the options presented,
this one has the greatest risk of coming off as a gimmick. The reader might feel like you're
grabbing at straws to keep their attention. The text was getting kind of slow so you threw in
an alien bunny rabbit love child to keep things moving. They also might feel like you just made
a mistake, especially if the plot twist is so far-fetched, it just doesn't feel like it belongs
in the novel at all. So if you're going to drop this kind of bomb on the reader, make sure it's a
well placed bomb and that it fits with the story. And what's the easiest way to verify this? Beta
readers! So there you have it. Those are some of my favorite types of plot twists. Keep in mind,
you can combine these, they don't need to exist separately. No matter how you go about it. A
plot twist is a great way to keep your readers on their toes and make the story feel unpredictable.
On that note, don't forget to subscribe to my channel. I post new videos on Wednesdays.
Eve: The Awakening is still available in ebook and paperback on Amazon right now. You can
also order a signed copy, all the links are listed below. And if you have any questions or if there's
something you'd like me to talk about in my next video, be sure to Tweet me @JennaMorecii! Bye!